Monday, April 4, 2011

My now 16-month-old, Iain, is a picky eater. He seems to be following in my footsteps... eh, I mean tastebuds. He likes chocolately sweet things. And fruit. And bread. And when he does NOT like something, it is painfully clear. He pouts. He spits food out. And he swats at the spoon and throws his arms around. SO, I was quite interested to see how he would take to some food from Happy Baby that we were recently able to sample.

I decided to give Iain the banana yogurt melts one day as a snack. I knew he would love them, since he LOVES bananas... and he loves yogurt melts!

Here is his reaction to the first bite (kind of a pleasantly surprised YUM, if you ask me!):

Sure enough.... he sampled a few and then ran back for more!

A few days later, I decided to just get it over with and try to feed him the Happy Tots toddler mix of green beans, pears and peas, not thinking it would go very well. I held the pouch for him, just in case he swatted it out of my hands in disgust...

But I was completely wrong. Iain took one taste -- straight out of the pouch -- and practically inhaled the entire thing!

He LOVED it! I don't think I have ever seen him enjoy something that much (that wasn't dessert, that is!). I think he was shocked when it was gone....

He waved around the empty pouch, with kind of a "that's all?" look!

Iain also loved the spinach, mango and pear mixture.... and it was fun to see him feed himself by squeezing the pouch and sucking it down flat!(How neat... and how convenient!)

Needless to say, I was MORE than thrilled about the Happy Baby foods, and I am certainly a new fan... and customer! And so is Iain! :) And I am excited that the food is all organic, with 100% natural ingredients! (Yes, Iain is now eating healthier than ANY of us!)

Now... the best part is: YOU may get to sample some Happy Baby food, too!

The company has graciously offered a giveaway to one of my lucky readers! Here is a "peak" at what you might win: "A Healthy Start for a Happy Baby" starter kit, which includes: recipes, nutrition guide, Happy Bellies, Happy Puffs, Happy TOTS, Happy Melts and vouchers for frozen items (Happy Bites and Happy Baby). WOW -- I want to win! ;)

To enter the giveaway, please visit the Happy Baby website and then comment on this post about what food item(s) you think your child/ren would like the best! You will get one entry for your comment. And.... for an additional 2 entries, go to the Happy Baby Facebook fan page and "LIKE" them! Then comment here about doing so!

The winner will be selected at random on Friday, April 22!

GOOD LUCK!

*NOTE: I was not paid to say these wonderful things about Happy Baby or their products. The above post is entirely my own opinion (and my baby boy's), given at my own free will!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

The dogwoods are in bloom, and we have a bunch of the white-blossomed trees growing wild in the woods behind our house. They are BEAUTIFUL, and they look like snow-covered trees... in he middle of March!

We also have a purposefully planted pink dogwood in the front yard. I can't say that I've ever been partial to them, but this tree is just doggone gorgeous! I can't get over how rich the blooms are... and how many of them there are!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

My friends, Season and Shelly, and I (AKA the "Real Housewives of Chelsea, Alabama") recently went to Do It Yourself Crafts to paint some plates. Yep... PLATES! I saw this adorable, little bluebird plate design on the DIYC Facebook page, and it was just too cute to pass up, especially since we got an amazing deal from Living Social! ;) So, we headed over one night... and had a blast!What amazing ideas they have in there! Here is an absolutely adorable idea for Christmas ornaments with kids' hand prints. I SO plan on creating this with Jaiden's and Iain's prints for Christmas 2011! PRECIOUS!

Annnnnnd, here is just the cutest little crab I have ever seen! How clever! (And I don't even like the beach!)

Now, keep in mind that we started out with an all- white plate. Then we painted both sides black and started working on some really neat techniques. One thing that impressed me was that we cut out the little birdie shape from regular, old paper and outlined the shape on the plate. After painting in the bird, we put paint on the paper itself and then put THAT on top of the bird we just painted. It created a really cool texture!Here is my finished product.

The plate is displayed on the top shelf of the hutch in my dining room. And I LOVE how it goes along with my favorite Willow Tree angel!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Those who know me well know that I do NOT like Valentine's Day. I just think it's a dumb holiday. Now, I'll buy the chocolates, cards, stuffed bears and candies for Jaiden and Iain and Sean. And I do love getting cards or chocolate... ANY time. ;) But I don't really plan anything special. Nor do I expect anything special! So, it's always fun to see what Sean has up his sleeve for such a non-celebrated day....

To explain this year's gift, I need to backtrack a bit and share a photo of the "Cookies By Design" cookie bouquet I ordered for Sean for our anniversary last month. If you have not had these cookies before, they are VERY tasty... but they are also kind of pricey. And we always joke about how much each cookie costs if you break it down.... *yikes!

SO, this year for Valentine's Day, I got a "Cookies By Sean" cookie bouquet. Yes, he made these. And cut them out (AFTER baking them) with Jaiden's sandwich shapers(that's why they are kind of randomly shaped like dinosaurs, dolphins and hearts!)! Then he painstakingly iced them with homemade icing and decorating gel (that explains the drippy smiley face) and displayed them on stakes for me!

Looks just like the other cookie bouquet, doesn't it? No? Well, that's ok. It really is the thought that counts. Really! And I love that I have such a thoughtful husband who would take the time to do something like this for me! Even on such a dumb holiday! :)

About Me

I am a full-time wife to an amazing husband and a full-time mom to a beautiful daughter, little boy and baby girl... and I have a home-based business with Uppercase Living and work part time to help keep our lawn business up and running. (Yes, if you are out and about, that's me, the tall blond on the Walker mower!) In a nutshell: I am a busy -- but VERY HAPPY -- gal! :)

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So... if you're bored with your blog, make yourself a note that I do a little bloggy design work on the side! For a small fee, you pick the colors and/or scrapbook elements, and I can put together the background, main header, buttons, etc.!Here are a few examples (besides my own personal blog, of course)!* Oaklyn Hills Event Committee Blog* The Neat Get Neater